Harry Potter and the mysteries of Lilowood
by Vineet
Summary: Harry,Ron and Hermione take on their final years to graduate from Hogwarts and their magical journey continues...
1. Chapter 1 This year is too dear

**" I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER, J.K. ROWLING DOES.**

**AND IT'S A TRIBUTE FROM ME, AS MY FIRST "HARRY POTTER " FAN FIC.**

**THERE MAY ALREADY BE A BILLION FANFICS. OF "HARRY",BUT THIS ONE IS**

**...'EXPELLIARMING'. "**

CHAPTER 1: THIS YEAR IS TOO DEAR

The cool zephyr was blowing with passion and gratitude as if celebrating the azure canvas that was coated with crimson and dark muculent patches of nimbus,which in turn were mesmerizing the pale faces of timber underneath,making them waltz in unision.

The occassion was just an ordinary summer's day,but to make it special was Professor Flitwick's extraordinary dosage of weather charming spells.

"happy birthday Harry",

Harry took a well groomed bouquet of grey and white roses from some unfamilier hupplepuff girl upon the umpteenth time and a gorgeous girl with a tide of magnificent red hair pulled out a note from within and crushed it under her fist , without casting much of a look upon the subject of the note.

The girl with faded blue eyes and an air of preposterousness around her face glanced at Ginny for a second and then her askance fell upon Harry,who was trying to make a face somewhere between an apology and innocence,but instead resulted into a gauchy sort of a look.

"Now, dear students and fellow teachers, Harry will do us a favour of cutting his Birthday cake,so if anyone still left to wish him for his eighteenth Birthday can come forward." Professor Mcgonagall was speaking in a amplified voice which was hitting every corner of the howgarts grounds.

When no one came,she simply looked at professor Slughorn,who was looking like an overgrown toy soldier,covered with a shimmering armour and a metal helmet probably belonging to one of those unpopular and rather big headed beater gang from "Chudley Cannons" known for their foul playing. His walrus moustache was neatly rolled and swinging waywardly on either side of his gigantic chin. He was surely paying his tribute to the braviest of boy he had ever known.

He waved his wand in a zigzag manner and a monstrous cake appeared out of placed it upon a transparent cylinder sparkling with jet blue and golden letters quoting "Harry Potter,the boy who will live forever."

The cake was a multi-flavoured speciality product imported from Bulgaria's famous "The whizy cake factory".It gave it's eater the taste of their desire,and was in the form of a castle known to the people of wizarding world by the name of ' howgwarts'.

Every eye was looking at the cake which was truly a masterpiece in itself. Eighteen lightening shaped candles were glowing,distributed amongst the towers and some merely hanging from castle walls as if held by an invisible string.

As harry began blewing the candles,the gathering of teachers and students alike irrespective of their houses,began singing...

"Long live Harry Potter, the boy who lived...will live forever within our hearts,

the Merlin is watching in his glasses for sure and so is our good old professor Dumbledore."

Harry looked bewildered and a little bit uncomfortable. He faced towards Ron and Hermione who were chortling with a mix of humour and euphoria, and looking at Ginny in somewhat semi-appraisal. As Harry's revolting green eye's met the bright brown pair of Ginny's,she was blushed with pink and supressed a mirth, but Harry was unstoppable.

He was laughing like no one has ever seen him laugh and when he realized that everyone was looking at him,he got a bit choked and uttered..."what?"

Soon everyone,even Professor Mcgonagall could not stop herself from joining the riot of laughter that filled the atmosphere; like some invisible laughing gas was attacking their lungs.

After a while,everyone was calm enough to realize that Harry had still to cut the cake except for Hagrid and Prof. Slughorn,who were enjoying their way like those children enjoying rides in a fair.

Their laughter seem unnoticed to themselves and it was when they realized to put brakes when Professor Mcgonagall interruped ,"Harry will you cut the cake please ! "

Soon the aroma of the deliciousness filled every nostril present at the grounds as Harry marked a big swoop of slash through the castle double-doors using the artificial sword of gryffindor especially crafted for this purpose.

Once agin familiar sounds of "Happy Birthday Harry" ,"Long Live Harry", "Potter rocks" etc. echoed in the grounds. Harry took the first piece of the cake directly towards Mrs. Weasely who was holding his ' godson' ,Teddy Lupin ;and stuffed a small amount of cream from the top of astronomy tower into the mini mouth of the baby,who was still a couple of months shorter from celebrating his first birthday. He was soon smacking his lips,licking the flavours of his infant fantasy.

Pretty Soon they were occupied by Butterbeers,Muffins,Firewhiskey,Pineapple tarts,and several other mouth watering dishes prepared by the house elves of howgwarts,who were serving them too.

As Harry took a big bite of his birthday cake,an owl came flying like a preying hawk and perched on his had brought an envelope bearing a stamp of queen Elizabeth II. The envelope was labelled as "TO HARRY POTTER" in a horibble handwriting and reminded harry of his cousin Dudley. He tore open the envelope and was quite surprised actually at the first place to see a package from Dudley.

He found a letter inside and was about to read it,when he almost jumped from a voice vibrating his eardrums, "Harry ",Ginny had meant it being a whisper,but it was way beyond whisperness.

"Blimey! Ginny, it's you, next time try from the front okay",Harry sighed.

"alright,but i was wondering,who's letter are you holding in your hands?",Ginny asked in a demanding sort of tone.

It isn't a love-letter Ginny,it's from my cousin,you remember Dudley,aren't you." Harry replied cooly.

As he began reading it after putting his gaze away from Ginny,he was frozen for a second or two,then tried regaining his normal,but it was already enough give away for Ginny, who peeked into the letter and saw a big and bold "I LOVE YOU" written and the rest of the birthday greeting looked crap to her. However before she could react, Harry pointed his fingers where the name of his situation made 'beloved' cousin was engraved at the bottom mentioning " Your brother and always will Be,Dudley Dursley".

"...And so, i had to explain her why Dudley loved me,to be honest,i myself discovered this thing today itself ",Harry finished.

Hermione and Ron both burst into laughter, now joined by harry himself.

It was past midnight and Harry's 18th Birthday was folded carefully by Yesterday,and they had their Advanced Double Potions along with Herbology and not to forget Muggle studies a couple of hours later after the crack of dawn.

It was because they had decided to complete their final year,which had already been given an early start because of Prof. Slughorn's unavailability during the end of the year,which meant that in less than five months they will be relieved from their studies.

Ron at first was hesitating to continue his studies but Hermione's stubborness win over him and Harry also believed that a little more study will do a lot of good for their career ,but in reality he was thinking of sharing same classes with Ginny ; not all,but a few of them maybe as per their timetable , Ron's appeal of joining bussiness with George was a little less appealing to him.

The students leftout from their studies last year, were not much, including Dean and Luna and a few other kids whom parents didn't send them Howgwarts.

As for the rest of them, they have been under the protection of Professor Mcgonagall and have completed their studies reluctantly during Voldemort's regime over howgwarts and cheerfully after his tyranny was crushed by Harry and his friends.

Hermione yawned as the clock stuck an hour past midnight and they exchanged slid towards the girls dormitary,leaving the gryffindor common room vacant as Ron and Harry were already gone to was already asleep since hours,because of tireness involved in the preparations of Harry's birthday bash.

Harry however was not yet asleep. He was thinking of the day,when he and Ginny will sit next to each other. It was not like he hadn't been sharing desks with Ginny for a complete month and a half, but it had tend to become his habit to think for the next "GINNYISH" moment, while listening to the snorts of Ron and falling asleep in his Four Poster bed.


	2. Chapter 2: Unnamed misery

Draco looked straight into the face of his father.

A shade of grey hinting away the tremendous amount of melancholy hidden beaneath the mask Lucius was trying to force upon himself yet unhidden from the eyes of his only son.

His soul-mate had passed away from a hazardous attack of dragon Pox ,just like his father Abraxas Malfoy,even the cure of Gunhilda seemed to have failed as told by the healers at the Magical Bugs Ward at St. Mungo.

"Now son,you must return for your education at Howgwarts...i' hve already informed Professor. Mcgonagall of this tragidical incidence; the reason behind your two weeks absence." Lucius was barely audible, but Draco nodded to his father in somewhat a sort of approval.

Lucius hurried inside the room and fetch a shabby wand.

"This is your new wand , you can now return mine,as it has not been such great experience for you."

Draco took the 10 inches long and slightly bend wand made from oak wood and bearing threstal hair as core.

As Draco apparated from the chimney's fireplace using the floo powder after returning his father's old wand, Lucius unlocked a secret passageway behind a grotesque pillar in his manor which led him straight to a small attic and then he cast "Lumos" with his wand to unveil a painting remarkably ancient and moth eaten from corners.

He quickly removed it from the wall and said evanesco and reparo simultaneously to remove the cobwebs from the painting and repair the damage.

Now a clear view of the painting was available,in which a lake dominated most of the picture with an empty boat on the banks and an orchard at the distant background.

He hanged it upon the wall and lit an old lanturn nearby,which was burning in bluish flames and without any oil.

"Father, Father,where are you? i have come to meet you...i am your son Lucius." Lucius was getting impatient when a sore voice echoed.

"I am coming son...just wait ".

And he saw an old green coloured man with spots all around his visible body and wearing a strange hat, resembling almost to the famous "sorting hat" at the howgwarts,but with a reddish tint.

The emerald skinned man had appeared from the bushes of the orchard and had now been sailing the boat to come across the lake.

"Lucius my son,atlast you have remembered me...and look at you how old and tired you are looking". Abraxas Malfoy was looking a bit cross.

"Father, Narssy has passed away and so has Bella..." Lucius's voice was broken.

There was a timid silence for sometime after which Abraxas spoke,in his sorest voice.

"How did this happen?"

"same old Dragon Pox,which took away you from us;Narssy just couldn't fight it long with the dose being ineffective once again."Lucius told his father.

"And Bella..?" Abraxas enquired.

"She...she got killed in a duel with a Weasley woman".

And before Abraxas can interrupt further,Lucius explained the course of events which happend after the rise of Voldemort.

"So she deserved that, that cruel little witch." Abraxas seemed unworried about the fate of his daughter-in law's sister.

"Dragon Pox takes another family member, that's a shame on wizarding world...dealing with it with an ancient cure of Gunhilda and no progess is made meanwhile hundredths of wizards and witches were killed,out of the thousands affected...all i can say is Merlin has jinxed our family a bad luck",the senile dragonpoxenated man was just lecturing on wizarding ethics and medicure when he heard from Lucius...

"I gave your wand to Draco"

"What did you say?",he was sounding awkwardly happy.

"I said,i gave it to Draco...your Grandchild."Lucius tried to be calm.

"That means time has come for me to leave this portrait,as i have promised you before my death"

Abraxus's joy was soon short-lived as he saw tears erupting from the corner of his son's eyes.

"Draco will return son and you will not be alone , i know it is hard for you on a situation like this,but you have shown immense courage today by accepting the truths and making the right move.

This world gives Joy only to those who takes it and not the ones who continue living in their sorrow is the last thing i have to tell you,so make freinds and live happily till the very end of your life."

And Abraxus Malfoy disappeared from the portrait...while Lucius Malfoy shed another gleaming tear on the attic room's carpet.


End file.
